Journey to the West
by plainpain
Summary: Edward travels westward to Creta–the neighboring country of Amestris–however, everything isn't all fun and games when Ed finds himself dealing with terrorists who advance in combat and alchemy.


**I know you're all thinking 'she's rewriting **_**again**_**!' and I know I should really work on Crimson Winter but I really wanted to fix this one as well because it royally sucked and had no relation to the original manga. I found a way around the ending, which I won't give away at this point in time. I looked up the countries surrounding Amestris and found a great map that not only showed me that Creta is the country west of Amestris, I also now know where the cities are in Amestris as well as the train routes. I looked up the history behind Creta as well and found the "Teach Me Instructor Roy" series about the new movie and it gave me a lot of great information on Creta. I know they made a movie that seems related to this story but really the Crets weren't in it at all. Milos is or was a separate country that was taken over by Creta then taken by Amestris so really it's part of Amestris and has nothing to do with the tribes in Creta. Which is good because I didn't really like the movie and don't want to write about it.**

**In the manga there was a 2 year time skip, this is taking place after the 2 years since that's when he leaves. That means he's 18 in this fanfiction. In addition to this, this story will mention Edwin because they do get married and I'm trying to keep this as close to the original story as possible.**

* * *

**Chapter 1: Creta**

Edward Elric watched the trees pass by out the window of the train car he currently sat; the evening sun set the nearly empty coach aflame in red and orange hues. It was strangely quiet; riding alone after the years he traveled with his brother. But he knew Al was all right now and could manage without him, not having to worry about standing out so much in a crowd or ever having to feel alone at night. It was almost as if everything that took place had never happened besides the automail that still clung to his left leg.

He would never have expected the events that took place after he helped save Amestris, admittedly, he was still a little nervous about his conversation with Winry at the sation. _'There's always more reasons to stay, isn't there,' _he mused. Even so, Edward had decided to learn about alchemy from other places even if it meant he traveled alone. Of course he would go back home straight after, only spending the time he needed in Creta. He knew Winry would wait for him; she had always been the more patient one.

He heard Creta had issues between the states for a long time, the central government going as far as building government controlled borders in order to prevent civil disputes between tribes. On top of that, Creta and Amestris had continuously fought, if it wasn't for Roy Mustang, the current Führer of Amestris, Creta would still have disputes with them. Even among this delicate peace between the countries there are no railways connecting them. This was due to mixed reasons, mostly because Mustang was busy with repairing the damages done by the Homunculi and the new railway connecting Amestris to Xing through the desert. Meaning Ed would have to travel by foot from Sunecu; the closest city to Creta that appeared on his map.

Ed sighed, sitting back into his chair, he wouldn't be able to rely on alchemy if things got ruff but he would have to manage. His life had depended so much on alchemy that he couldn't help but miss the benefits it brought, however, if he had a chance to go back, he would have done the exact same thing no matter what it cost him.

Edward yawned, it had taken him most of the day to get onto the train to Sunecu, leaving him very tired. _'I should probably sleep now when I can. It'll take a while to find a place to stay for the night anyway,'_ he thought as he propped his feet up on the chair across from him.

...

"Ninth stop, Sunecu!"

Ed slowly opened his eyes letting out a yawn and stretched out his cramped muscles. Night had fallen when he was asleep; the stars littered the sky above his head as he stepped off the train. The station was empty besides Ed and one man working late at the service desk, seemingly asleep.

Unlike the station there were still people bustling about the streets, visiting bars or making late errands. "At least I know the inns will still be open," Ed mumbles to himself.

...

"Welcome, welcome! How may I help you mister?" The innkeeper said leaning up against her desk.

"I just need to stay the night," Ed replied with yawn, it had taken him a while to find a place to stay. "I don't need anything fancy I'll be leaving tomorrow."

"Hmm, yeah, I got lots of room," her head disappeared behind the desk for a moment, finding the key to his room, "and under what name?"

"Edward Elric."

"Alright, that will be 250 cenz. Your room is 205, up the stairs, third door on your left. I hope you enjoy your stay."

"Thanks for being open," Ed replied again with a yawn, "why is it so busy here anyway?"

"Well now that Amestris isn't at odds anymore with Creta people came to find a more relaxing stay in the country than in Central. It's pretty busy over there."

"Yeah," he gave her a lazy wave as he walked up the stairs to his room, "I guess I'll see you in the morning."

"Good night, Mr. Elric."

Once he was inside his room he flopped onto the bed, only removing his shoes. It was going to be a long journey.

* * *

Edward awoke to the light shining from the window above his head. He dragged himself out of the bed, stretching, "I _must_ have been tired," he said to nobody in particular.

He grabbed his suitcase and went down to the first floor to return the key.

"Good morning, Mr. Elric." The innkeeper smiled at him from behind her desk, "did you sleep well?"

"Yes, thank you… um," Edward said realizing he hadn't asked for her name.

"Just call me Tia," she said as Ed handed her the key.

"Thank you, Tia."

"So, you said you were goin' some where? What brings you all the way down here?"

"I'm going to Creta, actually. This was the closest City I could find to their border."

"So you're walkin'?" She asked skeptically.

"Probably."

"Make sure you have a compass, oh, and if you look around you might be able to find other people going there. It'll be easier to travel in a group."

"Thanks for the tip, I'll be sure to look. Bye," He said as he walked out.

"Bye."

"Alright, I'll look around then." He walked around Sunecu buying supplies for his journey and occasionally asked other people about any one traveling west.

By the time noon arrived he had no such luck. Ed sighed and sat by a small fountain near the middle of had he expected, it wasn't like people would just decide to move into a country that had a hard history with Amestris.

"I should probably leave before it gets dark," he muttered hauling himself up. He was about to pick up his suitcase when some one ran up beside him.

"WHERE YA GOIN' MISTER?"

"Ahh!" Surprised by the sudden outburst Ed stood up too quickly, sending him into the fountain. _'Ow…'_

"You're _funny,_ Mr.," a small girl stood in front of him with a broad smile; she was very small, her height barely reaching his waist. The girl couldn't possibly be over the age of five. She giggled squeezing the life out of what seemed to be a stuffed rabbit.

"I'm so sorry, my daughter just loves to sneak up on people. I'm sure she didn't mean to send you into the fountain," the girl's mother said as she ran up to them. Ed preoccupied himself in getting up–soaking wet.

"That's alright, ma'am," he sighed, wringing out his ponytail.

"I'm Altea Silverdaize and this is my daughter, Rin." It was not doubt the two of them were related; they had the same light brown hair and eyes.

"I'm Edward Elric, but you can just call me Ed, I don't mind."

"Hi~" Rin smiled wider, "we're goin' to Crita."

"Crita?"

Altea laughed slightly at her daughter's attempts to remember the name. "She means Creta. We're moving there to start a new life."

"Oh, did you say Creta? That's exactly where I'm headed!" Ed smiled, not believing his luck, _'Who new that they'd come to me?'_ "Do you mind if I join you?"

"No, not at all! The more the merrier, that's what I always say, there's a group of us that are going; we were just about to meet them. They'll be happy to see you, Ed."

"That would be great, thanks."

Rin ran up to him grabbing his sleeve, "Oo, the funny man's coming too?"

Altea laughed, "she seems to have taken a liking to you."

"Do you want to hold Mister Bunny?"

Ed just smiled at the small girl, "I'm sure he'll like to be held by you more."

"Oh! Alright, I'll hold him, I'll hold him!"

...

"There they are," Altea announced, pointing to a group of people loading equipment onto a horse drawn carriage. "Hey there, you guys!" The group in question looked their way.

"Hey! Altea!" One of the men yelled, "who's the new kid?"

"This young man is Edward, he just so happens to be going to the same place," Altea declared while she grabbed Rin's had to prevent her from wandering off.

"Oh, is that so," the man replied, walking up op them. He was a very tall burly man with short black hair covered be a headband that crossed his forehead. "Well, we're happy to have you, kid," he laughed, placing his hand on Ed's shoulder.

He frowned slightly, "I'll have you know I'm eight-teen."

"You know I'm just messing with ya! Why don't you come help us with the equipment, show of your strength _young_ man."

"I intend to."

"Ha, ha, ha. Nice to meet you, I'm Greg, the skinny guy over there is Terance; he's my kid brother. The big guy is Henry, his wife's Liana and my beautiful fiancé is Siera." The woman in question had long red hair tied into a high ponytail.

"I think we're ready to go," Terance who had a striking resemblance to his brother–beside the glasses that sat on his nose–announced.

Henry, the other large man with spiky brown hair and beard lifted his wife Liana who had short light hair and green eyes onto the carriage. They were an unlikely pair; while he was a large well-built man, she was a very small gentle woman.

"Is every one ready?" Terance asked again checking behind him, "All right lets go."

...

The sun had set into the afternoon edging closer to the horizon. The eight of them had taken the time to learn about what every one would do once they got into Creta. Altea had mentioned that she wanted to start a new business selling clothing. Henry and Liana had basically the same reasons, Greg and Siera had decide to get married in Creta because it was known to be a beautiful place. Terance owned the carriage and was carrying everything his brother needed to live there. He had planned to go back to Amestris some time after his brother got settled.

"So, why are you heading to Creta, Ed?" Siera asked; she had cut off her fiancé who was making sure every one in the carriage new about how he and Siera met.

"My brother and I had actually decided to travel to different countries and learn more about the different types of alchemy. Al's headed to Xing while I'm going west to Creta."

"Oh, so you're an alchemist?"

"Well…" he started, "I used to be…"

"Oh, well that's too bad. You must be really smart then."

"I guess I learned a thing or two over the years."

Terance looked back a every one from his perch, guiding the horses through the plain, "night'll be here soon so we're gonna take a brake before long."

"That'll be great, Terance," Henry said, placing his hand behind his head, "I'm exhausted!"

"Rin is too," Altea stated, her daughter in her lap; dosing off to sleep, "and she hasn't eaten dinner yet."

"Well," Liana said searching through a few bags, "food is the one thing we got a lot of. We could make a fire to cook some of this stuff tonight."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Henry agreed, every one else nodded as well.

Terance stopped the horses near a small patch of trees, "We'll stop here," he announced to the group.

Every one began to take out supplies needed to last the night. While Edward helped Henry grab things from the carriage he could here different parts of their conversation.

"_Where are the matches?"_

"_You have Jerky! Why does no one tell me these things?"_

"_That's not for dinner, put it back!"_

"_We need blankets! My sweetheart can't sit on the floor!"_

"_Did any one here me? We can cook anything without some sort of flame! Hello?"_

"Edward," Terance called out over the other's chatter, "can you get some wood to burn?"

"Oh, sure thing."

...

"Food!" Rin cheered, throwing her stuffed rabbit in the air.

"Be careful! Don't drop Mr. Bunny in the fire." Altea sighed, "Wear you jacket too, it's getting chilly and I don't want you to catch a cold."

Rin stopped throwing the poor stuffed animal around and held it tightly, afraid that it would burst into flames. "Alright mommy, I'll be careful and Mr. Bunny will too!"

"You'll all come to our wedding right?" Siera asked, changing the subject.

"Well when is it?" Liana asked.

"We're not too sure… I mean there's a lot to prepare for."

"I don't know," Ed responded, "I'll be travelling a lot. I might not be in the area and I can't take too long here, there's some people waiting on me."

"Hmm," Henry said looking spectacle the fire casting shadows on his face, "it's a girl isn't it."

"W-well that too… but I…"

"So, have you proposed yet?"

"Uh, ya, I guess I did…"

"Aw," Siera sighed, "that's so cute! I remember when Greg proposed!" She stared of into space for a moment then continued, "when are you getting married?"

"I don't know…" Ed mumbled, his face turning red, "it all happened this morning…"

"No wonder you can't stay too long," Terance stated, his fist hitting his palm, "your girl is probably patiently waiting on your arrival. She's hoping for you to come home soon but respects your decision to travel around!"

"Is she cute?" Rin asked taking a seat in Ed's lap.

"W-well of course…" He said, the heat in his face rising.

"What's her name?" Altea asked; she was smiling at her daughter's cuteness.

"It's Winry."

"Make sure you invite us to the wedding," they all said with straight faces and Ed new they would come invited or not.

He sighed, giving up, "Sure."

"Yay!" Rin cheered.

"And don't forget to introduce us to your children," Henry added while he put his arm around Ed's shoulder.

"H-hey! We haven't–you creepy old man!"

* * *

"Rise and shine!" Rin cheered while she ran around their make shift campsite.

"Good morning," Liana mumbled, she was trieing to fix her short hair that was sticking up on one side.

After they all packed up their things and were about to leave Ed spotted three men wearing grey uniforms on horse back coming their way. "Looks like we got company."

"You over there," one of the men called out, "state your business?"

"Looks like we made it to the Creta border," Terance uttered, "we're all from Amestris and are travelling to Creta to start new lives there. You can check our supplies; there aren't any weapons with us."

The officer that spoke gestured to one of his men to do just that, after a little while he responded, "it's all good, sir!"

"Even though you don't intend to cause any damage you'll have to come with us," the first officer continued.

"I don't think any one has a problem with that," Terance replied getting back onto his seat behind the horses.

"Sorry, sir," The third officer said, "We can't be too careful when there are terrorist out and about."

"Terorists?" Ed asked. He hadn't been aware of such activity when he read about the country in central.

"We're not too sure who they are, but some people are saying they're the Yuratan."

"Yuratan?" Ed asked while he walked beside the officer's horses.

"When the union was being created they were the only tribe that hadn't wanted to join, however they were overpowered and the land they owned was taken. No one has heard from them since. I highly doubt some old tribe would come back now," the second officer declared with a scowl. "Probably just some people who are short on money."

The third officer was quick to add, "but that doesn't explain why they're killing a bunch of people and it's happening in each state so there isn't a tribe that's responsible."

"Hmm," Ed uttered, they were walking across the plain and had yet to anything other than the occasional tree or bush. The sun rose quickly heating up the earth below his feet, at that moment he really felt how thick his coat really was. "Do you think they're after power?" He asked while he slung the jacket over his shoulder.

"Who knows, they haven't attacked any governing city yet. I guess they don't have the guts to attack the ones in power. However, they advance in combat alchemy, which is making it hard to put a stop to there actions. We got the wolves after them, but they hide well."

"You have wolves after them?"

"Chimeras. They said that they couldn't track their sent; they're probably using something to over power their smell. If we could get a sample of their blood then it might be easier but the blood of their victims covers it up. Smart bastards."

"So, you said they advance in combat alchemy?"

"Not only alchemy, they're like ninjas or something! They got a whole bunch of weapons on them."

"They must have a base some where."

"Yeah that's another thing," the second officer mentioned, "they pop up all over the country, if they do have some sort of place there's got to be multiple."

"Have you tried following them?"

"Well of course we have! But like I said, they know their way around."

"Look!" Rin called out pointing ahead of them.

Past the carefully cultivated land and rivers stood a large city surrounded be circular white walls. A river cut straight through the walls joining with the large river that curled around the side. Within the outer wall stood another circular wall, the buildings within it more prominent. People filled the streets going about the morning oblivious to those who were watching them from the distance. It was a site to behold in the late morning sun that cast long shadows across the land.

"Welcome to Cretua city."

* * *

**Finally all finished!**

**I found a great picture on Google called "The Ancient City of Mari" it specifically says any one can use the picture and it fit the country's description perfectly. The picture is on Wikipedia under that name, it's a circular city that's surrounded by farmland with a river crossing through it and it is painted. I'm saying this because I can't put a URL.**

**Well, any way, This has got to be better than what it's replacing, I'll be happy to hear any suggestions or criticism. Please notify me if there are any mistakes I've missed.**


End file.
